Philip Hinchcliffe

Last updated

Philip Hinchcliffe
Born
Philip Michael Hinchcliffe

(1944-10-01) 1 October 1944 (age 80)
Dewsbury, Yorkshire, England
Alma mater University of Cambridge
Occupation(s) Television producer, screenwriter, script editor
Years active1968–2001, 2021
Spouse
Deirdre Hanefey
​
(m. 1970)​
Children Celina Hinchcliffe (born 1976)

Philip Michael Hinchcliffe [1] (born 1 October 1944) is a retired English television producer, screenwriter and script editor. After graduating from Cambridge University, he began his career as a writer and script editor at Associated Television before joining the BBC to produce Doctor Who in one of its most popular eras from 1974 to 1977. In 2010, Hinchcliffe was chosen by Den of Geek as the best ever producer of the series. [2]

Contents

Following Doctor Who, Hinchcliffe remained with the BBC as a producer for several years, working on series such as Private Schulz (1981), before launching a freelance career in the mid-1980s, which included making The Charmer (1987) for London Weekend Television. He finished his career as an executive producer for Scottish Television, with his final credit on Take Me (2001).

Background and early work

Hinchcliffe was born in Dewsbury, Yorkshire. [3] He was educated at Slough Grammar School and Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he studied English literature. [4] [5] After a brief period working for a travel company and then as a teacher, he joined Associated Television in 1968, writing episodes for series including the soap opera Crossroads (1970). [6] He then served as script editor of the sitcom Alexander the Greatest (1971–72), the children's adventure series The Jensen Code (1973) and the children's drama series The Kids from 47A (1973). He also became an associate producer on General Hospital . [5]

Doctor Who

Hinchcliffe's agent and contacts from his time as a script editor won him the position as the new producer of the BBC's Doctor Who. [5] In Spring 1974, at the age of 29, he was approached by the corporation's head of serials to take his first full production job, initially trailing and then succeeding long-serving producer Barry Letts. Although he trailed Letts on Tom Baker's first story, Robot , he was first credited on The Ark in Space . Throughout his first year he was mostly producing scripts that had been commissioned by the previous production team prior to their departure.

Hinchcliffe, together with script editor Robert Holmes, ushered in a change in tone for the series, which became darker and more adult than previously, with a gothic atmosphere influenced by the horror films produced by Hammer Film Productions. [7] This horror influence is especially evident in serials like Planet of Evil , Pyramids of Mars , The Brain of Morbius , The Hand of Fear and The Talons of Weng-Chiang , all of which have content which directly recalls well known horror novels and movies. Hinchcliffe also aspired to give the programme a more literary feel with a stronger science fiction basis. [8] Working closely with Holmes, Hinchcliffe tried to "tighten the whole storytelling up a bit and pay more attention to the design", but he conceded that it was improved "in some stories more than others". [9] As part of the effort to "tighten" the storytelling they were permitted to reduce the number of six-parters to just one a season (the previous team of Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks made three six-parters per season in their last three seasons).

Hinchcliffe was reluctant to use characters and monsters from the series' past: the Daleks, the Cybermen and the Sontarans only appeared once during his tenure, and these stories were commissioned by Barry Letts. The Master and the Time Lords returned for one adventure, The Deadly Assassin , at the suggestion of script editor Robert Holmes, but were portrayed very differently from their previous appearances. The character of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce made their final regular appearances in Hinchcliffe's second season.

The early Tom Baker era of the series is cited by Screenonline as the peak of Doctor Who in its first run. [10] However, the BBC received several complaints from Mary Whitehouse of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association that the series was unduly frightening for children and could traumatise them. The NVALA had been critical of the series before but the complaints reached their height in the Hinchcliffe period. Her strongest criticism was for The Deadly Assassin , where an attempt is made to drown the Doctor at the end of an episode. While the BBC publicly defended the programme, after three seasons Hinchcliffe was moved onto the adult police thriller series Target in 1977, [11] and his replacement Graham Williams, who had created Target, was specifically instructed to lighten the tone of the storylines and reduce violence. Screenonline states that this resulted in "the start of an erratic decline in both popularity and quality" for Doctor Who which led to its eventual cancellation. [10]

Hinchcliffe also wrote three novelisations of Doctor Who serials for Target Books, adapting the William Hartnell era story The Keys of Marinus , as well as two stories from his own era, The Seeds of Doom and The Masque of Mandragora . [12]

Subsequent career

After Doctor Who , Hinchcliffe worked on numerous series, single dramas and films, including Target , Private Schulz , Nancy Astor , The Charmer , [13] Take Me Home, Friday on My Mind and many others. He stepped down from the producer role in 1995, after working on the feature films An Awfully Big Adventure starring Hugh Grant and Total Eclipse starring Leonardo DiCaprio, [14] but was engaged as an executive producer by Scottish Television from 1998 to 2001, overseeing series including Taggart [14] and the John Hannah episodes of Rebus , and one-off dramas including The Last Musketeer with Robson Green.

Hinchcliffe has made numerous appearances on DVD releases of Doctor Who serials made during his time as producer. The documentary Serial Thrillers, included on the Pyramids of Mars DVD release, focuses on his three-year reign as producer in depth, examining what made the show so successful during that period. In 2012, Life After Who: Philip Hinchcliffe was included on The Android Invasion DVD release, in which his daughter Celina Hinchcliffe interviewed him about his career in British television and film after his work on Doctor Who. [13]

In 2021, Hinchliffe came out of retirement, returning to Doctor Who to help Big Finish Productions produce audio dramas based on "lost" story ideas from his era on Doctor Who. [15]

Personal life

Hinchcliffe married Deirdre Hanefey in 1970 and has two children. His daughter, Celina Hinchcliffe (born 1976), is a television presenter, primarily on sports programmes, and has worked extensively for the BBC, ITV & Sky News.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Baker</span> English actor (born 1934)

Thomas Stewart Baker is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the fourth incarnation and longest-serving Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1974 to 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Holmes (scriptwriter)</span> British screenwriter (1926–1986)

Robert Colin Holmes was a British television scriptwriter. For over 25 years, he contributed to some of the most popular programmes screened in the UK. He is particularly remembered for his work on science fiction programmes, most notably his extensive contributions to Doctor Who, which included working as its script editor from 1974 to 1977.

Genesis of the Daleks is the fourth serial of the twelfth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by Terry Nation and directed by David Maloney, and originally broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1975 on BBC1. In the serial, the alien time traveller the Fourth Doctor and his human travelling companions Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan are directed by the Time Lords to the planet Skaro at the time of the Daleks' creation to prevent them from becoming the dominant race in the universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrance Dicks</span> English author and screenwriter (1935–2019)

Terrance William Dicks was an English author and television screenwriter, script editor and producer. In television, he had a long association with the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who, working as a writer and also serving as the programme's script editor from 1968 to 1974. The Doctor Who News Page described him as "arguably the most prolific contributor to Doctor Who". He later became a script editor and producer of classic serials for the BBC.

Doctor Who is a British television science fiction series, produced and screened by the BBC on the BBC TV channel from 1963 to 1964, and on BBC1 from 1964 to 1989 and since 2005. A one-off television film, co-produced with Universal Pictures was screened on the Fox Network in the United States in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Nathan-Turner</span> British television producer (1947–2002)

John Turner, known professionally as John Nathan-Turner, was an English television producer. He was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who and the final producer of the series' first run on television. He finished the role having become the longest-serving Doctor Who producer and cast Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy as the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors, respectively.

Robot is the first serial of the 12th season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 28 December 1974 to 18 January 1975. It was the first full serial to feature Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, as well as Ian Marter as new companion Harry Sullivan. In the serial, the director of an English research institute plots to use an experimental robot to steal nuclear launch codes and blackmail the world's governments with them.

Richard Graham Williams was an English television producer, script editor and screenwriter. He produced three seasons of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who during Tom Baker's era as the Fourth Doctor, the ITV children's series Super Gran (1986–1987), and thirteen episodes of Tales of the Unexpected (1982–1984).

The Talons of Weng-Chiang is the sixth and final serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 26 February to 2 April 1977. In the serial, which is set in 19th-century London, the 51st century criminal Magnus Greel travels to the city and poses as an ancient Chinese god to find his missing time machine.

Vengeance on Varos is the second serial of the 22nd season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 19 and 26 January 1985.

The Brain of Morbius is the fifth serial of the 13th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 3 to 24 January 1976. The screenwriter credit is given to Robin Bland, a pseudonym for writer and former script editor Terrance Dicks, whose original script had been heavily rewritten by his successor as script editor, Robert Holmes. It is the first serial to feature the Sisterhood of Karn.

Revenge of the Cybermen is the fifth and final serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 19 April to 10 May 1975. It was the first to feature the Cybermen since The Invasion (1968) and the last until Earthshock (1982).

The Face of Evil is the fourth serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 1 to 22 January 1977. This serial marked the debut of Louise Jameson as companion Leela. It was also the first of three stories written for the series by Chris Boucher and the first of five directed by Pennant Roberts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Letts</span> English producer (1925–2009)

Barry Leopold Letts was an English actor, television director, writer and producer, best known for being the producer of Doctor Who from 1969 to 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Spooner</span> British writer (1932–1986)

Dennis Spooner was an English television writer and script editor, known primarily for his programmes about fictional spies and his work in children's television in the 1960s. He had long-lasting professional working relationships with a number of other British screenwriters and producers, notably Brian Clemens, Terry Nation, Monty Berman and Richard Harris, with whom he developed several programmes. Though he was a contributor to BBC programmes, his work made him one of the most prolific writers of televised output from ITC Entertainment.

The Enemy of the World is the fourth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 23 December 1967 to 27 January 1968.

Target was a British police action drama series, which ran from 1977 to 1978, on BBC1. Set in Southampton, it starred Patrick Mower as Det. Supt. Steve Hackett, Brendan Price as Det. Sgt. Frank Bonney, Vivien Heilbron as Det. Sgt. Louise Colbert and Philip Madoc as Det. Chief Supt. Tate. Seventeen fifty-minute episodes were produced and the theme music was by Dudley Simpson. It was the BBC's response to ITV's successful series The Sweeney, but received criticism for its levels of violence and only lasted two seasons.

<i>Doctor Who</i> season 15 Season of television series

The fifteenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 3 September 1977 with the serial Horror of Fang Rock, and ended with The Invasion of Time. The fourth series for the Fourth Doctor, new producer Graham Williams became producer for this series, while Robert Holmes left script editing for Anthony Read midway through.

<i>Doctor Who</i> season 12 Season of television series

The twelfth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 28 December 1974 with Tom Baker's first serial Robot, and ended with Revenge of the Cybermen on 10 May 1975.

<i>Doctor Who</i> season 11 Season of television series

The eleventh season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 15 December 1973 with the serial The Time Warrior, and ended with Jon Pertwee's final serial Planet of the Spiders. The season's writing was recognized by the Writer's Guild of Great Britain for Best Children's Drama Script. This is the Third Doctor's fifth and final series, and also the last consecutively to be produced by Barry Letts and script edited by Terrance Dicks. Both Letts and Dicks would work for the programme again, however - Letts in Season 18 and Dicks on future stories, e.g. Horror of Fang Rock.

References

  1. ↑ "UK Corporations from A to Z". www.checkdirector.co.uk.
  2. ↑ Westthorp, Alex (1 April 2010). "Top 10 Doctor Who producers: Part Two". Den of Geek . Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  3. ↑ "Search Results for England & Wales Births 1837-2006". www.findmypast.co.uk.
  4. ↑ "Cambridge Tripos Examination results", The Times, 23 June 1966, p. 18.
  5. 1 2 3 Dexter, Ray (2012). Doctor Who Episode By Episode: Volume 4 Tom Baker. ISBN   9781291174076.
  6. ↑ "Philip Hinchcliffe". BFI. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019.
  7. ↑ Mellor, Louisa (3 September 2013). "Philip Hinchcliffe on producing Doctor Who, Tom Baker, special effects, Russell T Davies, Big Finish audio plays & more…". Den of Geek. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Philip Hinchcliffe | Doctor Who Interview Archive". Drwhointerviews.wordpress.com. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Voice-over commentary on the BBC DVD "The Robots of Death" (1977, 2000)
  10. 1 2 Clark, Anthony. "Doctor Who (1963–89, 2005–)". Screenonline. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide – Season 14". BBC. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Summary Bibliography: Philip Hinchcliffe". www.isfdb.org.
  13. 1 2 "Doctor Who: U.N.I.T Files Review". The Digital Fix.
  14. 1 2 "Dr Who producer Philip Hinchcliffe talks about the programme's ongoing success (From The Argus)". Theargus.co.uk. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  15. ↑ Jeffery, Morgan (19 August 2021). "Philip Hinchcliffe: 'I was pushing the envelope on Doctor Who, but not irresponsibly'". Radio Times.
Preceded by Doctor Who Producer
1975–77		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.